Cantata on the elevation of Leopold II to emperor
The cantata on Leopold II's elevation to imperial dignity (WoO 88) is a work for solos , mixed choir and orchestra that 19-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven composed in 1790 in Bonn , the royal seat of the Electorate of Cologne .
Emergence
The coronation of Leopold II took place on October 9th of that year in Frankfurt am Main . The cantata was probably composed the previous summer. Beethoven had previously composed the cantata on the death of Emperor Joseph II (WoO 87), the text of which was written by Severin Anton Averdonk . Stylistic evidence suggests that the latter also wrote the text of the Leopold cantata.
To the music
With an open recitative at the beginning reporting on the resting Joseph II, the work ties in with the preceding cantata. The music develops from a simple string section to a festive conclusion with trumpets and timpani.
The cello part of the aria “Fließe, Wonnezehre, flließe!” May have been tailored to Bernhard Romberg , who had recently become a cellist in the court orchestra. The soprano part is reminiscent of the aria of Konstanze in the second act of Mozart's opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail . As the musicologist Lewis Lockwood explained, Beethoven was intensely involved in Mozart's work around 1790. The final chorus “Heil! Fall down millions ”is thematically based on Schiller's Ode To Joy , which Beethoven planned to set shortly after the cantata was completed. He finally put this project into practice with the completion of his Ninth Symphony in 1824.
effect
As for the Joseph cantata, there is no known performance during Beethoven's lifetime. According to a report by Beethoven's friend Franz Gerhard Wegeler , one of the two works is said to have prompted Haydn to recommend Beethoven to take lessons from him in Vienna.
literature
- The Bonn Imperial Cantatas. In Sven Hiemke (Ed.): Beethoven-Handbuch, Bärenreiter, Kassel 2009, ISBN 978-3-7618-2020-9 , pp. 254-257.
Web links
- Cantata for the Elevation of Leopold II .: Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
Individual evidence
- ^ Lewis Lockwood : Beethoven. The Music and the Life , New York - London, 2005 (first edition: New York 2003); German: Beethoven. His music - His life , Kassel etc. and Stuttgart - Weimar, 2009
- ^ Franz Gerhard Wegeler , Ferdinand Ries : Biographical Notes on Ludwig van Beethoven , Koblenz, 1838, reprint with additions and explanations by Alred C. Kalischer, Berlin and Leipzig, 1906, p. 20